Old McDonald's Farm is Getting Crowded!

I have been doing some research on this subject since I first heard about it a few months ago.  The simple statement of the problem is that there is not enough space on earth or resources left to support the number of farm animals required to support the earth's likely population in just a couple of decades.  It is partly driven by population growth, but also as societies around the world raise the standards of living and prosperity of their people, more people want to add meat to their diets.  (You don't think people eat rice-dominated diets by choice, do you???).

None other than Bill Gates has taken this up as one of his philanthropic causes, a natural fit since many of the Gates Foundation's efforts are in developing countries.  Here is an interesting interactive that explains his concern and offers the basic facts surrounding and defining the problem. 

Here is a TED Talk from someone who is advocating a high-tech, evolutionary approach to the problem.





I don't know what the final answer will be (but I hope to be around long enough to watch it evolve!).  I know I am not willing yet to give up my occasional 'treat' of a nice cut of prime rib or choice steak, but I have already moved away from the "red meats every night of the week" approach of my childhood and if enough of us do that maybe we can give the smart people working on the problem time to figure something out. 

I particularly like the tone of the comments at the end of Andras' talk -- maybe this is just the next step of mankind evolving and adapting to the environment and available resources.